Dreams of a Demon
by Myuki-chan
Summary: Sesshoumaru's worst fear comes true: He's turned into a human! When he comes across Kagome, who's been separated from Inuyasha, can she help him cope with his new situation? KagxSess
1. Fear and Dreams Collide

Chapter 1 – Fear and Dreams Collide

The great Taiyoukai of the Western Lands was sleeping.

He rarely did so, for several reasons: one, his stamina allowed him to go without sleep for long periods of time; two, he didn't really take pleasure in the idea of being in a vulnerable state regardless of the abilities of his heightened demon senses; and three... the dreams. If someone were to name the feeling that was roused in him due to these dreams, it would be fear. Sesshoumaru thought otherwise. Fear meant weakness and Sesshoumaru did not consider himself a weakling. He felt that this so called 'fear' was actually a severe loathing at being unnecessarily inconvenienced; the inconvenience being a human body.

The dreams were the newest addition to his list of reasons for not sleeping. A few years ago his rare moments of slumber were peaceful and uninterrupted but one evening when he closed his eyes, his mind became plagued with dreams that would not cease until he awoke more exhausted than if he had not slept at all. At first he brushed the incident aside, certain it would not happen again, but when it did happen again, the same dreams every time he ever slept, it began to worry Sesshoumaru ever so slightly. This was not something that should be happening. Eventually, he stopped trying to find a way to rid his mind of those dreams, reluctantly accepting, but accepting nonetheless, that he could not change the circumstances and would be forced to endure them for however long they continued to return.

This night of slumber would be no different that the others... or so he thought. The moment Sesshoumaru's eyes closed, his mind and subconscious body were thrown into the dream world that by now he was all too familiar with. The dog demon examined his surroundings with little interest, the same dark trees and bushes silhouetted against the same sapphire night sky.

_Stuck in this pathetic human body once again..._

He took a step towards the pond in front of him, expecting to stare down at human characteristics like he always did. What Sesshoumaru did see managed to break his usual calm composure as an expression of shock flashed across his features.

It was simply him. Youkai markings still graced his forehead and cheeks, his hair was still a waterfall of silver flowing down his back, and his eyes were still two golden glowing orbs.

He had grown so accustomed to seeing human features every time he looked into the pond that seeing his unchanged self was entirely unexpected. Sesshoumaru immediately glanced about suspiciously, eyes narrowed, wondering what else would be different this time. Smoothing his features back to the usual emotionless mask, he started to walk in the direction he typically travelled in the dream as if nothing had changed.

Nothing else seemed to have changed as he continued walking; finally reaching the clearing that was always present at the end of his dream. Sesshoumaru paused at the edge of the treeless area, remembering all too clearly what occurred here every other time.

Fangs. Blood. Pain. Fear.

That worthless human body reacted to the attacks with waves of fear for there was no way for him to defend himself. He always managed to awaken moments before the demon moved to close its jaws around his neck to end his life.

But this time he would have no need to fear. If anything, he would make that demon pay for those 3 years of sleepless nights, melting it into oblivion. The thought made Sesshoumaru smile slightly inwardly.

The dog demon stepped into the clearing, listening to his surroundings, expecting to hear the sounds of a large youkai racing towards him intending to slay him. Instead, he heard laughter. 

Female laughter.

Sesshoumaru's golden eyes darted about searching for the source of mockery but the laughter seemed to come from all around him. He calmly examined the shadowy trees, his expression remaining stony and cold.

"My dear Sesshoumaru... you really have no idea what you've gotten yourself into, have you?"

Although the reprimanding tone irked his inner composure, Sesshoumaru let nothing show on his face, simply standing in the center of the clearing, refusing to allow this invisible adversary the pleasure of making him speak.

The laughter came again, irritating him yet at the same time seemed to blanket over his senses like a heavy fog.

"Aww... you refuse to let me hear you talk? Well, that's too bad. I think I can make you..."

Sesshoumaru blinked. Was this female reading his mind?

"I wouldn't necessarily call it 'reading'. More like... hearing it loud and clear as if you were shouting it to my face."

He could practically hear the grin plastered all through the sentence.

_Where is this bitch?_

"My, my, what language Sesshoumaru. That is no way to refer to a lady."

"Cease your incessant intrusion!"

If Sesshoumaru had been annoyed a moment ago, it was nothing compared to the flare of rage that burned inside him when the laughter returned, clearly delighted at having made him talk.

This female was truly infuriating him, causing the end of his tail to twitch back and forth. More so than his worthless half-brother Inuyasha could ever make him, for this wench somehow had access to his thoughts and Sesshoumaru did not want anyone rifling through them without his consent.

"Oh my, am I irritating you Sesshoumaru? Your tail is twitching... a definite sign when you're bothered." The voice clicked her tongue. "You should really learn to keep your temper. It's a wonder how everyone seems to believe that you're some cold, emotionless bastard when clearly you're a petulant bastard. They are right about you being a bastard though."

A slender silver eyebrow rose above a slit-pupil golden orb. Since there was no point in remaining silent anymore, Sesshoumaru felt that he might as well figure out what was going on.

"Why such hostility towards me, woman?" He asked coolly, regaining his composure.

The voice sniffed. "Of course you don't remember me. I am far too below you for you to have any reason to commit my existence to your memory." Sarcasm dripped heavily from her words as the voice spoke. Before Sesshoumaru could say another word, the voice continued.

"This brings us to why you're here. To put it simply, I despise you. I hate how you treated me and want you to suffer for it. Suffer then perish in the worst way possible." The last sentence was practically snarled, but the voice seemed to gain control over her emotions as she continued, "So... naturally I decided to take a peek into your mind in order to discover what you feared. Of course, it did take me quite some time to crack through your barriers... I do commend you for that, Sesshoumaru. I have never seen such a maze of locked thoughts... but I still got past them nonetheless."

Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes slightly, a barely visible furrow marring his pale brow. His fears? He had no fears... did he?

"Oh of course you do, dear. As much as you might hate to hear it, everyone does... even you. Now your greatest fear... was quite interesting, allowing me to have great pleasure manipulating your dreams."

He froze. His dreams.

"Yes, your dreams. That was my doing. Did you like them? Of course... your fear didn't exactly include a massive demon coming to rip you limb from limb but I thought it would be more fun that way. You refuse to accept that you fear being trapped in a human body. You fear a human life, human abilities... why, you would be even worse off than your half sibling. But I didn't come here to explain all this and let you go free as a bird. I'm here because you no longer fear your dreams because after all, they're just dreams... and that is exactly the problem. After all, if my dreams no longer bother you, I won't have anything to entertain me and you won't be suffering anymore."

"I am not a source of amusement, wench." Sesshoumaru replied frigidly, cracking his knuckles as he glanced around the clearing again.

"Well you could have fooled me. I'm more amused right now than I've been in ages! But now and later are completely different things. So... I've decided to change my little form of torture on you. Instead of human dreams plaguing you..."

Sesshoumaru uncharacteristically started as he no longer felt the familiar weight of his tail upon his shoulder. He noticed that his surroundings grew darker and less clear as well as the sounds around him becoming muffled. Unfortunately, the female voice remained as clear as ever.

"...you will have a human reality. Take a look." The voice was layered in satisfaction as an area in front of him shimmered into a makeshift mirror.

He stared at himself in shock. He looked like he had every other time the dreams came but this time he just knew it wasn't a dream. The bitch had somehow moved him from where he had gone to sleep, during the beginning of the dream, to a place that looked exactly like the clearing in his dream so that he wouldn't notice the change from his nightmare to reality. His youkai markings had disappeared leaving only smooth pale skin behind. Dark chestnut instead of silver-white hair flowed down his back and framed his face. Golden orbs were replaced with deep purple eyes that stared back at him in utter disbelief. Letting all self-control go, Sesshoumaru broke out into as best a snarl he could make with his new human vocal chords.

"What is the meaning of this?! I demand you undo whatever spell you have cast and return me to my former self!"

"I'm afraid I can't do that for you, my dear. This is all just too much fun. Oh! And look who decided to join in the festivities!"

The sound that reached Sesshoumaru's ears required no youkai hearing abilities in order for him to realize what was standing behind him. A low hiss echoed throughout the clearing as the enormous snake youkai from his dreams slid slowly towards him. Cruel laughter rang out as Sesshoumaru darted from the clearing, the youkai striking with dripping fangs at the spot he had stood only moments before. He ran blind, fear radiating from him like he had never felt before with anger boiling underneath, for he knew there was very little chance he would survive yet at the same time despised the idea of letting the demon bitch have her revenge upon him. He still couldn't remember where he had heard her voice before yet it pestered him at the edge of his memory. If only fate was on his side...

Unfortunately, fate seemed to want to give him a good kick as well, as Sesshoumaru went sprawling after tripping on an unseen rock. He scrambled up hastily, damning human reflexes to hell as the snake youkai came upon him, wrapping its tail tightly around his torso. He felt a few ribs break and his vision swam with black spots as his airway was constricted. A sharp pain in his shoulder, then a dull ache spread through his body as the poison raced through his system. Expecting to be eaten, Sesshoumaru almost didn't feel the pain, from total disbelief, as his broken ribs were jarred from being dropped abruptly. But then the pain washed over him, clouding his vision and causing his face to break out into a sweat as the face that went with the female voice that had mocked him the entire evening came into his view. He could barely make out a pair of stripes upon each cheek underneath dark eyes that laughed at him. Her midnight black hair tickled his face as she leaned forward.

"I'm not letting you off that easy. Having you eaten would ruin the whole purpose of my efforts. I'm going to simply let you lie here and die from the poison from my dear snake friend. But, if by some miracle you survive, I have a backup plan for your demise." She patted his cheek affectionately, before standing up and in turn moving out of his line of sight.

"Two months, my dear. If you live, I look forward to it."

Sesshoumaru struggled to remain awake as he tried to drag himself away from the place he had fallen. He felt his human body cry out in pain and his mind shout out in something close to joy as he could see a light in the distance grow brighter with every crawl forward. The last thing he managed to see before his world blacked out into blissful darkness was a pair of blue-grey eyes staring at him in surprise.


	2. Interrupted

**A/N:** Hey there everybody! Oh look, chapter 2! I'm surprised with myself. Hahaha XD Couple things I forgot to say on the first chapter. The title for Ch.1 was from the lyrics for 'Let Me Fall' by Josh Groban. And I thank my friend, Kir, very much for helping me with the storyline XD Ideas and reasons and such. Okay I'll stop now, more notes at the end lol. Enjoy!

Chapter 2 – Interrupted

Three years had passed quickly for Kagome, travelling with Inuyasha and everyone else, looking for jewel shards. She was now 18 and having graduated high school (barely in her own opinion), the young miko decided to pass on university to devote her full time to the quest for the shards. She didn't know what she would do after all the shards were found... or what kind of a future would come from it.

_I wonder if Inuyasha will be a part of it... _Kagome flushed ever so slightly at the thought beneath her dark bangs.

Her relationship with Inuyasha was complicated. The only thing that had changed in the past three years was that they had finally admitted their affection for each other two years ago. But not admitting so much as to say those three special words. You couldn't really blame the situation on either of them though. Chasing after jewel shards didn't really give them time to consider making progress in their relationship any further than hugs (somewhat awkward she might add) and the occasional brief kiss. Another thing that didn't exactly help the relationship was the constant presence of Sango, Miroku and Shippou. Kagome didn't think anyone would want to get all lovey-dovey with three pairs or eyes boring into them. Sure she knew they meant well, and often left them alone... if only to hide behind a bush.

Of course... there was always that one factor above all that despite assurances, could threaten to tear their delicate bond apart.

Kikyou.

That day Inuyasha and her had spoken of their feelings for one another, he had promised her that he would no longer chase after Kikyou and devote his attention to her alone (well, his _emotional_ attention... his attention in general was usually focused on finding the shards). True, she had felt more secure in their relationship but at the same time, nothing had really changed after that - other than the previously mentioned rare show of affection. They still argued with one another and often spent days without speaking.

At the moment, Kagome trudged behind a thoroughly annoyed hanyou in silence, occasionally glancing up at his long white hair swaying back and forth as he stomped along the path leaving very visible footprints. She opened her mouth then closed it. She wanted to talk to him but speaking seemed to be out of the question at the moment. You could never talk to Inuyasha when he was angry. Rational thought seemed to vanish in those situations.

But she wanted to explain why Miroku, Sango and Shippou had just gone off on Kirara calling out a simple, "Bye!" Kagome hesitantly opened her mouth again then closed it once more, glaring at the ground. The idea had seemed good at the time. Of course, it was Sango and Miroku's plan and had required a lot of convincing in order to pry Shippou away from Kagome. But if she was honest with herself, she had been stupid enough to agree to it and was now stuck with an irritated half-demon who wasn't talking to her because in order to stop Inuyasha from following the others, Kagome had to say the word he hated above all things.

Damn it, if he would only listen! She opened and closed her mouth again, berating herself inwardly.

_You really should have thought it through before going, "That's sounds great!" Smooth move, Kagome._

The miko suddenly collided with something hard yet slightly yielding in her path. Kagome felt herself lose her balance and began to fall backward, only to be steadied by a pair of clawed hands on her shoulders. She blinked as her world steadied and looked up into a pair of golden eyes staring at her in annoyance, realizing she must have walked right into Inuyasha.

"Will you stop gaping like a damned fish and just tell me whatever you were trying to say? It's annoying as hell having you walk behind me like that."

Kagome glared at him, stepping out from his hold with a bit of reluctance.

"Well if you had stopped acting like you were going to kill anyone that interrupted your little mood swing I would have!"

"I'm listening now. Spit it out."

The miko rolled her eyes as she adjusted her backpack. Affection announced or not, Inuyasha could still be an enormous jerk.

"Fine. I was going to explain to you what happened this morning and since you asked so _nicely_, I'll tell you. Well..." Kagome shifted uncomfortably. Telling him the reason seemed easier when she wasn't actually doing it. Now it all seemed ridiculously embarrassing.

"What?" Inuyasha snapped with his arms crossed across his chest as he glared at her. Kagome glared back before continuing.

"Sango and Miroku wanted us to spend some time together by ourselves. They noticed that in the past two years we never got the chance, so they took Shippou and went back to Kaede. Since Naraku hasn't shown up in the past couple months, they thought it would be safe to have a bit of a vacation." She saw Inuyasha open his mouth to argue and raised her hand to stop him. "I know you don't agree with it, but hear me out, please."

Inuyasha frowned and reluctantly resolved to just glare disapprovingly in a haughty stance as she spoke.

"Thank you. I know you want to keep looking for jewel shards, but honestly Inuyasha, we haven't seen any sign of them for weeks and like I said, Naraku either for months. And Sango and Miroku can take care of themselves if anything happens. Can't we just take a break for awhile? Even a week?" Kagome pleaded, her blue-gray eyes staring at Inuyasha solemnly. "I don't know about you but... after two years, I wish our relationship was a bit more than it is right now..."

Inuyasha's expression visibly softened as her listened to her, his ears lowering in a sign of... was it guilt?

Suddenly, Kagome felt herself jerked forward as Inuyasha reached out and clutched her to him. He buried his nose in her hair, breathing in deeply. He had always loved her scent, despite what he had told her at the very beginning of this long journey. It was so different from Kikyou's... so pure... so warm. It enveloped him in an embrace that calmed his very soul and he wished he would never lose that feeling... and never lose Kagome. The young miko sighed happily as she wrapped her arms around his waist, closing her eyes in delightful bliss, feeling the awkwardness she had felt in any previous hugs become completely non-existent and replaced with contentedness in his arms.

"I'm sorry Kagome... " Inuyasha murmured quietly into her ear. Kagome blinked in surprise and pleasure at his honest tone. It was a rare thing for him to apologize without it sounding forced or sarcastic. She pulled back a little and smiled brightly at him, tapping the hanyou on the nose playfully.

"I knew you could be nice if you tried." She laughed lightly then placed a hand against his cheek. "And I'm sorry too for telling you to 'sit'–"

_**WHUMP!**_

"_Kyaaaa!_ Inuyasha!!! I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry"

After much apology and hugging, Kagome and Inuyasha set off again with her hand tucked inside the firm but gentle grip of his. They didn't know where they were going exactly and it didn't really matter since Inuyasha could easily find his way back to the village. For the moment, they were both quite comfortable with just walking hand in hand.

The late afternoon progressed into the beginning of a cool summer evening, the sapphire sky full of stars with no clouds in sight. As the pair settled down by a riverbank in front of their fire, Kagome felt a shiver of delight race through her body as Inuyasha leaned forward to place a confident kiss upon her lips. This kiss felt different that all those chaste ones... this one felt as if it could lead to a place she had only read in romance novels, blushing profusely while she read of course. To the miko's surprise, she wasn't sure she wanted it to. She didn't mean that exact moment, Kagome was sure Inuyasha would never force something like that on her, but for the future. It rather disconcerted her.

Inuyasha could tell she had become distracted and he pulled away to look at her.

"What's wrong?"

Kagome blinked then blushed, obviously embarrassed. She shook her head and smiled, "No, no, nothing. Um... how about I find something for us to eat?"

The hanyou gave her an odd look then shrugged. "Okay."

Kagome found some ramen inside her pack and moved to hand one to Inuyasha when she saw him freeze and stare behind her into the dark forest, his ears alert.

"Inuyasha? What is it?"

"Something's coming," He stood up and unsheathed the Tetsusaiga, golden eyes narrowing as he moved forward, "and fast."

Kagome's eyes widened before her expression became serious as she grabbed her bow, notching an arrow to the string. She turned around to stand by Inuyasha, preparing to meet whatever was coming their way. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see him sniffing at the air and waited for a confirmation of what it was.

"Youkai... snake." He growled as he tightened his grip on the Tetsusaiga. Kagome suddenly felt as if something was terribly wrong and she glanced around nervously. Then it became all too clear too late. She spun around to scream at Inuyasha to move at the same time he realized what was wrong as well.

"Fuck--!" He managed to say before a long blur collided with him from the opposite direction they had been expecting, the speed of its passing causing Kagome to fall backwards. She scrambled to her feet, aiming her arrow at the cloud of dust that had erupted, but not firing in fear of accidentally hitting Inuyasha.

"Inuyasha?!!"

"Sssilly mortal..." A voice hissed from behind her, too close for comfort. Kagome turned around hastily to see a massive snake youkai towering over her, its eyes glinting in amusement as she aimed her arrow.

"Perhapsss you may kill me, but what of them?"

Kagome's eyes widened in horror at the sight of at least a dozen snake youkai surrounding her, the only possible escape being the river rushing wildly behind her, and perhaps due to her miko abilities, a sudden determination kicked through her body.

"Stay back! I can purify all of you, you know that? A-and Inuyasha will slice you all to bits!"

Hissing laughter filled the silence after her little outburst, the one youkai that had spoken before leaned forward to flicker its tongue at her. She felt disgusted, but was set on showing no reaction.

"You ssspeak of the hanyou, yesss? We have disssposssed of him..."

"You lie!"

"He isss gone—"

"I haven't gone anywhere you slithering piece of crap!"

A blade of wind crashed down in front of Kagome, narrowly missing the youkai that had jerked backward just in time, kicking up another cloud of dust. She sighed in relief before a frown of concern marred her forehead as Inuyasha landed unsteadily on his feet beside her, clearly injured.

"Inuyasha...?"

"Damn bastard bit me. The poison will leave in awhile, but I don't think we have that kind of time right now." He winced slightly then straightened up as the dust settled. "Kagome, get in that river and away from here."

"What?! I'm not leaving you here!" Kagome yelled at him incredulously.

"I'll be fine. Just—"

"Like hell you will! You're can barely stand up!"

Inuyasha glared at her and opened his mouth to argue but was interrupted by the youkai that seemed to do all the talking.

"Lisssten to the girl... it will make it easssier for usss."

The snake youkai suddenly lunged forward at the same instant that Inuyasha shoved Kagome hard into the river, its fast current taking her away. Her head broke through the surface in a shower of water droplets and she tried to focus on the commotion onshore, barely able to make out Inuyasha's white hair amidst the twisted collection of snakes writhing back and forth before she floated around the bend.

She was also able to notice something else though. Two youkai had left the group and were now pursuing her down the river. She quickly began swimming with the current, frantically searching for somewhere she could climb onto land. Spotting a more shallow area of the river to her left, Kagome swam towards it, scrambling out of the water and running into the forest. She didn't stop running until she could barely breathe, collapsing to her knees. The miko sobbed quietly, her heart crying out to know what happened to Inuyasha when a noise from behind her caused her to become silent. It sounded like a long body sliding over the ground.

_They are fast..._

Kagome felt her heart sink as she looked at her bow still clutched in her hand. It couldn't possibly work well being this wet, could it? She didn't give it another thought though as the two snake youkai that had followed appeared in front of her. To her surprise, the arrow still flew, a bright blue trail following it as it struck one of the snakes, leaving nothing behind. She turned to shoot another arrow at the second, only to discover that it had fled, leaving her safe for the moment. The young miko sighed in relief and fell to her knees again, her dripping hair and clothes creating a puddle around her.

_Inuyasha... please be okay... _

Looking around her, Kagome decided she should start a fire, even if it could bring attention to her from other youkai. After all, getting sick from being soaking wet was the last thing she wanted to happen. She gathered the sticks around her and lit the fire, making a ring out of nearby stones. She had finally settled down against a fallen log when a dark chestnut haired man, wearing strangely familiar armour, stumbled into her campfire. Staring at him in shock, she saw a glimpse of purple before the stranger's eyes closed and he fell to the ground, unconscious.

**A/N:** Such nice reviews... -cries in happiness- All of you make me happy! XD Thank you to Tokyogurl1, kawaiipnay, Moon-n-Universe-Goddess, cobaltwind, InuLuvr18, Mori'quessir, and Affinity. -glomps all of you-  
I didn't want to put this at the beginning cause I'm guessing you'd rather get to reading the fanfic, huh? XD I actually had this done before, but I waited to submit it cause otherwise the fic wouldn't show up as a new one, only an updated one. As for chapter 3, that will probably have to wait until after Tuesday, crappy exams and all.  
Other than that, thank you again for the wonderful reviews! And please review for this chapter too!  
Oh yeah, if you didn't like the InuKag part, that's okay XD I didn't like writing it hahaha  
Bai bai!


	3. Nurse Kagome

**A/N:** I'm so touched... everyone that reviewed was so nice -cries in happiness- I love you all!!! glomp XD

Ahhhh yes. Sorry this is so late XD But last week was crazy... way too much stuff to do. Anyways, here's chapter 3! Enjoy!

Chapter 3 – Nurse Kagome

Kagome stared at the fallen figure in complete shock, her wide eyes blinking slowly, trying to comprehend what had just happened.

_Okay, Kagome... a guy has just collapsed in front of you... what do you do? Ugh! This sounds like one of those bad choose-your-own adventure stories! Just go over there and see if he's okay!_

She stood up from her seat by the fire and cautiously walked over to the form lying on the ground.

"Umm... excuse me? Hello? Are you okay?" She asked nervously, tilting her head to try and get a look at the man's face. She paused for a moment and frowned in contemplation as her gaze fell on the bone armour that he wore.

_What's he doing wearing armour like that? And why... does it look so familiar?_

Kagome knelt down and gently rolled the form over onto his back. She stared at his face, her brain telling her that she knew this person, but at the same time that this was someone new.

Gasping at the sight of blood seeping through the right shoulder of the familiar looking haori, Kagome reached forward, going into 'nurse' mode, and removed the armour, opening the shirt front to examine the wound. She noticed absently that the left side of the haori had opened wider, revealing a scarred shoulder where an arm should be.

Then it suddenly hit her like a wave crashing down violently onto a beach.

Kagome snatched her hand back, as if it had been burned, from where it had been gently prodding the area around the deep puncture wound, her entire body visibly jumping in shock. Her blue-grey eyes stared widely at the prone figure on the ground, her mind trying to register completely what she had just realized.

"Sesshoumaru..." She whispered in astonishment, frozen in her spot as she looked at the chestnut hair and pale skin where his youkai markings had been. Her eyes finally rested on the wound she had been examining, the bright red blood seeming terribly out of place.

_He's... human?_

The miko frowned in uncertainty and held her breath as she slowly reached out a hand and... poked him in the side. She let out her breath in relief when no response, that could potentially kill her, was made.

_Oh good, he's not awake. No wait... that's not good. In fact, that's really bad._

"Sesshoumaru?" Kagome called out slightly louder as she peered into his pale face. She hesitantly reached out a shaking hand, partly from being cold and partly from fear (human or not, he was still intimidating), to touch her palm to his forehead. When skin touched skin, all fear dissipated into complete concern for the unconscious being in front of her.

"You're burning up!"

_What should I do? Oh I know! I have medication in my bag! ...My bag._

"Oh crap." Kagome sighed in frustration as she remembered that her bag had been left behind when the youkai had attacked. She glanced at Sesshoumaru anxiously, contemplating leaving him to go back and find the bag. After all, it had other useful items other than the medication and she didn't think he would wake up anytime soon and go wandering off.

Deciding to go look for her backpack, Kagome was now faced with the problem of moving Sesshoumaru closer to the fire since she didn't want him to get cold.

She figured there was no other way to bring him closer other than to drag him. Sighing again, she lifted his arm gently and draping it over her shoulder, the young miko rolled Sesshoumaru upright until her shoulder was supporting his weight. Her concern for him increased even more when he made no sound of pain even when his wound pressed into her back as she shuffled slowly towards the fire, ignoring the feel of warm blood seeping through her sweater jacket. The only indication that he was alive was the unhealthy level of heat radiating from him and his shallow breathing.

Gently lowering him to the ground near the fire, Kagome hesitated for only a moment before unzipping her jacket and covering his torso. Rubbing her arms to warm them, she looked around at her little campsite, glancing once more at Sesshoumaru's motionless body, frowning at the rather large blood stain on the back of her jacket, before sprinting off in the direction she had just come from.

Her heart pounded as she ran, her hair flying wildly behind her. Soon she could hear water rushing and stopped at the edge where the trees ended and the sandy river's edge began. Kagome then realized she had left her bow and arrows behind in her hurry and cautiously looked up and down the riverbank for any sign of the youkai, feeling very vulnerable.

Suddenly a movement of pale yellow caught her eye and she stared at the object in absolute delight.

_My bag!! But how did it get here?_

Figuring that she could contemplate this later, she glanced about once more before running to the water's edge to grab the massive yellow backpack that had washed up onto the sand, the bottom half of her jeans getting soaked again in the process. Not wanting to spend another moment in such an open area, Kagome lugged the bag onto her shoulder and began running back to her campsite.

Going back took longer with the added weight but the entire trip still hadn't taken very long. Rushing into the firelight, she quickly searched for Sesshoumaru, sighing in relief to find that he had not moved and that nothing had disturbed the area.

Setting the bag down, the miko rummaged through it, taking some items out and placing them beside her. Looking for a little white bottle amidst all the stuff inside was like looking for a needle in haystack. She frowned in concentration as she dug around the bottom of the pack, her eyes lighting up in triumph when her hand touched a small cylinder-shaped object of plastic. Yanking it out, Kagome pursed her lips as she read the recommended dosage.

_2 pills every 6 hours... Well, since he's a demon maybe he'll need more that that... Oh wait. He's not a demon anymore. He's human for who knows what reason... Well, all the easier for me I suppose. _

Kagome stood up from where she had been crouched over her bag and tiptoed over to where Sesshoumaru lay. Clutching the bottle in her right hand, a frown creased her forehead again as she was faced with the problem of getting her unconscious patient to swallow the pills. Recalling something she had heard of people automatically swallowing if you put something in their mouth, she stared at the chestnut haired figure before her. The miko was rather worried he might choke and die but figured she might as well try, as leaving him like this would result in a sure death anyways.

Squatting down beside Sesshoumaru, Kagome carefully opened the plastic bottle and tapped two chalky white pills onto her palm. Propping his heavy form up against the arm holding the two tablets, she set the bottle down and gently pried open his clenched mouth, plucking a single pill from her other hand and placing it on his tongue. Holding her breath, she shut his mouth and held it closed, watching him intently. Sighing softly in relief as there was no sign of choking as he swallowed reflexively as she had heard, she popped the remaining tablet into his mouth as well.

_Hmm... he probably needs some water..._

Setting him back down on the ground, the young miko crawled over to her bag and dragged it back before opening it again. She hummed quietly to herself as she dug through the backpack's contents; feeling much less stressed since she knew the medication wouldn't be a problem. Finding a new water bottle, she unscrewed the cap and lifted Sesshoumaru's head again, dribbling some into his mouth and waiting for him to swallow before trickling some more in.

Now all that was left was the bloody shoulder. Easily spotting her travel first-aid kit, which she always kept at the top of her bag, Kagome opened it and looked for some appropriate bandages. Finding a roll of gauze, she took out the bottle of alcohol that had been in the box as well and soaked a piece of cotton to dab at the wound. She had used up most of the cotton in her kit before the puncture hole looked as clean as she could make it. Unrolling the gauze she slowly wound it around Sesshoumaru's shoulder and across his chest to keep it in place. Firmly tying the two ends together into a knot, Kagome sat back and smiled, feeling pleased with her handiwork.

Relaxing after having gone through a rather peculiar and tiring ordeal, Kagome settled down in the spot she had been sitting in before a certain Taiyoukai-that-was-now-human had interrupted her brooding. She stared into the fire, letting her mind wander to sort out her thoughts.

What was the first thing she had wondered? Her bag... how did it come downstream like that?

"Well," Kagome pondered out loud, "most likely it was knocked into the water while..."

A pained look crossed her face and she shook her head, her damp but no longer soaking wet hair falling in front of her face.

"No. I won't think about it. I'll only start thinking about the bad possibilities. Besides, he has to be fine. I'm sure he'll show up within a week at the most. Inuyasha couldn't have been killed by some simple snake youkai... even though they didn't seem very simple with that kind of speed. But it wasn't from a Shikon shard... I would have felt it. It must have been something else, but what?"

Suddenly feeling very alone and defenceless, Kagome pulled her travelling blanket out of her bag, wrapping it around herself, and placed her now dry bow and arrows at her feet. But she realized she wasn't actually alone. There was after all, Sesshoumaru.

The young miko would never have imagined that she would be so grateful to have him around, despite him being rather... well, unconscious. She supposed that was actually for the better, considering he hated humans and probably hated her even more since she hung around Inuyasha. If he still had been a Taiyoukai and awake, she'd probably be dead right now. Kagome shifted nervously and glanced over at Sesshoumaru's still body, feeling rather apprehensive even after having such close contact when she had tended his wounds.

What could she say? He radiated power and discipline every time their group had crossed paths with him.

Although at the moment, not so much.

Kagome glanced over at him and felt fairly satisfied when she saw his chest rise and fall in a more calm fashion compared to the shallow breathing before, which reminded her of the other thing she had been wondering.

_How... why... what the hell happened to him?! _

What seemed to be the more frightening question was: who managed to do a thing like this to him? After all, this was Sesshoumaru. It was a rare thing for him to be caught off guard. From the looks of him, the human appearance seemed to be a result of some complex spell. The cure could be practically anything.

"Whoever did this to you must have been pretty adept at distracting you from what they were doing." The miko said quietly, staring absently at his pale face, shadows dancing across his features from the firelight.

Freezing as a low growl was suddenly heard, Kagome laughed in embarrassment at her reaction as she realized it was her stomach. She didn't have a chance to eat anything for lunch. Poking through her backpack, she found a muffin and some juice she had packed the last time she had gone home.

There was a good question. How would she get home when she needed to restock her bag when she had no idea where she was?

_Silly Kagome. Why are you wondering such things? Inuyasha will come get you soon... there's no need to worry._

"...I hope..." Kagome whispered softly, squeezing her eyes shut as she hugged her arms to herself.

Munching gloomily on the muffin, her eyes wandered over to Sesshoumaru's body and widened in surprise to see it in a different position than it had last been in. A rather uncomfortable looking one at that. She figured he was probably more conscious now and just sleeping.

The young miko crawled over to his twisted body and rolled him onto his back again, rolling up her sweater jacket for a pillow and covering him with the blanket she had wrapped around herself. She didn't need it anyways since she had her sleeping bag which was quite cozy even on cold nights.

As she leaned over his face, to tuck the makeshift pillow beneath his head, Kagome suddenly recalled seeing something purple before Sesshoumaru had collapsed. Examining his face curiously, she could find no trace of anything purple unless...

"Could it be your eyes?" She wondered out loud in a soft voice.

_Just like Inuyasha...?_

She leaned forward, as if she could see the colour through the eyelids if she was close enough. Blinking once, she suddenly found herself staring at eyes that were quite open.

Blue-grey stared at a violent shade of purple in shock, reminiscent of how the whole matter had begun. Only this time, no one collapsed. Instead, there was silence other than the crackling of the fire.

Until it was shattered.

"_KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!"_

**A/N:** I didn't want to take up time getting to the story, so I'll thank the people that reviewed here: Tokyogurl1, cobaltwind, Mori'quessir, Affinity, corrupted-miko, Inuyashaluver52293, whimsy007, animefreak321654, Skitzoflame, dasz, Mew Karina, Archangel Rhapsody, Lavender Valentine, and kairinu!  
Er... I just put whatever I saw beside the 'from' lol XD All you guys RULE!!!

I would have e-mailed you all back but I didn't want to bother you XD Feel free to e-mail me though!

I should say that the next chapter might take awhile too, just as a warning to my readers.  
Stupid university and their _second_ midterms!! I think they're all completely nuts. XD

So please be patient cause I won't abandon you since you all say such nice things -hugs-


	4. Stubborn

**A/N:** Agggh! Sorry this is sososo late XD I blame school. Everything can be blamed on school. Either way, here's chapter 4, enjoy!

Chapter 4 – Stubborn

"_KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!_"

Kagome scrambled backwards hastily, not stopping until her back collided with a tree a few meters back. Her heart was pounding in panic as she stared wide-eyed at Sesshoumaru who hadn't moved. He simply lay there with his head propped up by her jacket, staring at her.

The young miko calmed down as she realized he was not going to try and kill her and seemed just as surprised at awakening to see her face hovering above him as she had been discovering he was now awake.

This was only partially true. Indeed, Sesshoumaru had been surprised, but not from her. Well, not exactly. He had been surprised when the girl had released that ear-piercing scream, not from her face taking up his entire field of view, as it was completely unexpected since he had not threatened her or anything of the like. He was quite certain he was deaf in his left ear now... or his hearing was at least severely damaged.

In fact, everything did sound a bit duller than usual. And what was that girl doing near him anyways? Sesshoumaru's mind raced as he tried to pick up the pieces of what had happened. Then he slammed into a memory he had been dreading and actually hoping wasn't true in the back of his mind.

_I'm human... _

The former Taiyoukai could recall severe pain and irritating laughter but after that it was only darkness. He remembered eventually regaining some consciousness and hearing someone talking softly. The girl perhaps? Either way, he awoke completely at the uncomfortable feeling of someone scrutinizing him closely only to be greeted by that deafening scream. He focused his gaze on the girl again, slight surprise running through him as he found her staring at him with a furious glare.

During Sesshoumaru's recollection of thoughts, Kagome had been steadily growing more and more irritated at him.

_Why did he have to wake up then? It's obvious he was conscious before that. He could have waited until I sat back to wake up! He wouldn't have scared me then! I wouldn't have screamed! It's all his fault! Jerk!!!_

The miko glared fiercely at the brown-haired man, irritation racing through her as she noticed that his gaze had wandered off somewhere into the trees. When his gaze did return to her though, the fragile wall holding her anger back shattered and she found herself shouting at him. And she didn't even know why.

"You jerk! You scared me half to death! You could have been polite and waited until I had left!" Kagome yelled, pointing at him accusingly. "Here I am running back and forth putting myself in mortal danger to find medication for your fever and this! This is what you do after I saved your life! You're so rude! I deserve some courtesy! I..."

She trailed off as she realized that her words sounded absurd even to her. Also, it was starting to unnerve her how Sesshoumaru had said nothing through the entire outburst and had simply been staring at her the whole time.

"Uh..." Kagome stared back at him uneasily, "are you going to talk?"

Sesshoumaru hadn't bothered to speak since he wasn't so sure saying anything would have stopped her. If anything, it probably would have fueled her on. Instead, he set himself the task of remembering where he had seen her before. It annoyed him that he couldn't recall how he knew the bitch that had done this to him, so he was determined to figure this out at least.

_She's being remarkably disrespectful to someone of higher status. Reminds me very much of that pathetic half-breed... In fact, this is indeed the same girl that always tagged along with him, the reincarnation of the clay-and-bones priestess. How pathetic these mortals are, resorting to yelling to get their point across when more than half the time they don't even have a point to begin with. How I despise their futile little minds..._

"Well... I'm sorry for being so rude; you just startled me," Kagome continued when no response came, "I suppose it's good that you're awake now, don't you think?"

Kagome glanced at her watch, when he still didn't answer, to avoid his gaze and uttered a soft, "Oh! Already?"

She picked up the white plastic bottle and tapped out two white pills onto her palm like before. Shuffling over to Sesshoumaru nervously, she knelt down and reached over to put one in his mouth when he suddenly released a low growl. Kagome jumped back then glared at him, hands on her hips.

"What?! I'm trying to help!"

"I need no help, girl. Especially from a _human_."

The miko rolled her eyes. "I don't know if you've noticed, but you _are_ a human now, Sesshoumaru. I have no idea how that happened and I'm betting you won't tell me, so I won't ask. But would you just let me help you?"

When no reply came yet again other than a cold look, Kagome threw up her hands in exasperation and stomped back to her seat by the fire.

"Fine! I didn't have to help you, you know. Since you don't seem to want my help, I won't bother. If you do want it though, just ask and I'll be glad to help. I'm going to bed. Good night." With that, she dropped the pills back into the bottle and yanked her sleeping bag out of her backpack. She climbed into it and turned her back to the fire and Sesshoumaru.

Sesshoumaru stared at the back of her head for a moment, through the flickering flames of the fire burning between them, before turning his head away and closing his eyes. His human body was slowing down, in need of rest, and he figured since the demon wench probably had no idea he was still alive for the time being, he might as well get some sleep.

_Humans... with their useless emotional outbursts... how ever do they manage to survive?_

The next morning was silent and awkward. Kagome prepared her own breakfast, ignoring Sesshoumaru completely, before leaving to go take a bath, bringing her bow and arrows with her. Sesshoumaru simply watched her go with contempt, deciding he would leave before she returned. Tensing his arm to support his weight, he pushed upwards, only to discover he hadn't moved at all. Eyes narrowing slightly, he tried again with the same result. It seemed he was weaker than he thought and the former Taiyoukai cursed silently.

He would have to remain with the girl until he recovered enough... or until she decided to pack up and leave.

So he was human now. What a despicable state to be in. When he regained his strength, human or not, he was going to find that wench and make her regret even thinking of doing this to him.

_She will pay... and the revenge will be sweet. This Sesshoumaru does not overly approve of revenge, but will allow myself the satisfaction just this once. _

He grimaced as pain shot through his shoulder and turned his head to eye the bandaged appendage.

_Whatever that girl gave me must be wearing off. I will not ask her for help. I need no human to help me. This pain is nothing._

After most of the medication had worn off though, Sesshoumaru began to rethink his whole 'pain is nothing' idea. He figured that humans had a lower tolerance as the reason for why the damned puncture was causing such excruciating pain. But he was set on letting himself heal without any human medicine or care and Sesshoumaru was not one to give in easily.

Kagome returned from her bath quite wrinkled having stayed there for a few hours. Her eyes were red and it seemed she had been crying. Sesshoumaru stared at her impassively with slight disgust.

_What is the point of emotion? It only causes problems. There is no practical use for such a thing._

The miko flopped down onto her sleeping bag, ignoring the cold stare from the figure lying on the ground. She rubbed her eyes and sighed.

_I guess I'm more worried about Inuyasha than I thought_, she mused, tilting her head to braid her wet hair.

She had spent most of her bath sitting at the edge of the water, crying her eyes out. She didn't know what caused it; perhaps she had expected Inuyasha to have found her by the time she woke up. She sniffled, hugging her knees and resting her head atop them. Not to mention she had an unappreciable former youkai on her hands.

The rest of that day and the next few days continued in a similar manner. Sesshoumaru paid little or no attention to Kagome whatsoever and any acknowledgement he did give her was in the form of a cold glare of disgust. Kagome busied herself with reading the few books she had brought along, which she found could be very compelling when you were trying to avoid a glare from a youkai that hated you.

The only thing that changed across those few days was the condition of said youkai. Instead of becoming any better, Sesshoumaru, in fact, steadily became much, much worse. His fever returned full force and his shoulder wound was becoming increasingly more painful each day.

He hated to admit it, but it seemed that Sesshoumaru needed help.

Grimacing in pain and annoyance at having to result to such a thing, Sesshoumaru blearily focused on the form sitting by the cheerful fire, reading another book.

"Girl..."

Kagome dropped her book, startled since neither one had spoken the past few days and turned to stare at him.

"I have a name you know. It's Kagome, but I won't expect you to call me that anyways. Do you want something?"

Sesshoumaru narrowed his violet eyes, cursing his damned human body for being so weak and dependent before answering.

"I do not _want_ your help, but it seems I need it."

Kagome nodded solemnly before reaching for her first aid kit, but inside she was grinning like mad and secretly relieved. She wasn't going to rub his face in her victory, for she found it quite amusing that he had decided to ask her now because she had been planning on forcing him to take the medication that night and abandoning her seemingly uncaring exterior. She just couldn't stand seeing him in such a horrible condition.

It seemed Kagome had won this battle of wills.

**A/N:** I feel like this chapter wasn't as good as the others lol So I'm sorry. XDXD Please read and review!  
Thank you to: Dragonfaeriex, cobaltwind, shadowgirl/ashleigh, i-wish-i-was-kagome, Hanyoubanshee, LatinaKagome, animefreak321654, Mori'quessir, Tokyogurl1, JohnnyBoy, RavenSilverKat, Skitzoflame, Spork or Foon, DragonessOfDarkness, crazy-punk-gurl, utena, Faero of Egypt. XD  
(Um, if this annoys anyone, just let me know and I'll stop lol So if I do stop, just know I thank you all anytime you review!)  
  
And if you want to know what evil demon lady looks like check out my deviantART account in the scraps cause won't let me post links. The link to the devART account is on my author page. :)


	5. Things Are Going Well… Or Not

**A/N:** -runs up, falling over a couple times before finally hitting the computer screen- Ow… Right. Anyways. XD GOMEN! This is extremely late… but it's here now! And done! So enjoy! XD  
Um... to 'dragon' who wanted me to email them the story, I couldn't cause ff(dot)net cut off your email (it doesn't like things that remotely resemble links/websites)... I could only see the user name (DragonPixie14)and not what domain it was at... so send me a separate email or something and I'd be glad to do so :)

Chapter 5 – Things Are Going Well… Or Not

Kagome busied herself with Sesshoumaru's health, concern hanging over her head like a dark cloud whenever he seemed to have a relapse and become even worse. Even though there were many times when it seemed that nothing she did could pick up his health, she had to admit that slowly, he was steadily healing as the phases of high fever grew further apart.

Sesshoumaru remained as cold and distant as ever, submitting to her tending but ignoring her after she finished whatever she had to do. She could tell being stuck as a human bothered him. A lot. She could only imagine how much he hated it. Inuyasha wasn't all too fond of his monthly change and he didn't even despise humans. Well, at least not nearly as much as Sesshoumaru who was a full youkai too, not a hanyou.

The young miko sighed softly. Inuyasha. He still hadn't come and the second week since their separation was already nearing its end. Even when Sesshoumaru regained full health, some of that worry hovering over her would still remain until Inuyasha returned.

The former Taiyoukai was a welcome distraction though, despite him not talking to her and not appearing very appreciative for her help. He had stopped frowning every time she had to touch him to change his bandage, which was an improvement at least. An indifferent expression was better than one that made her patient look like he wanted to kill her, making Kagome all the more grateful that he no longer featured his poison claws.

She still cried whenever she was alone. It surprised her that the lack of Inuyasha's presence meant so much to her. She never thought anyone could make her worry so much about them, other than her family members of course. But she couldn't help but notice that her sorrow wasn't quite the same as what she would feel if someone in her family had died. If someone she loved had died. What did that mean then? She definitely cared a great deal about Inuyasha… but was it love?

Kagome didn't know what to think. She told herself she could blame this on the fact that it was very early in the morning (the sky had only begun to pale and take on that golden glow) and that she was probably still sleepy. The truth was, she had already been awake for more than an hour and had simply been watching the stars fade from the dark sky.

Another hour passed and the sky had turned mostly pink and orange, a few wisps of cloud making their way across it. Kagome blinked then sighed, rolling over to get up. There really wasn't much point in just lying there.

_I might as well go take an early bath and bring some more firewood on the way back…_

She gathered up her little bag of soap and shampoo, a towel and her bow and arrows. She still didn't feel very safe without them. Glancing over at Sesshoumaru's sleeping figure, she couldn't help but send a small sympathetic smile at him.

_Poor guy. No one deserves to be stuck in a form they hate. Although maybe being human might teach him something about being nice._

The miko blinked then hastily covered her mouth with a hand to stifle the laughter that threatened to bubble out of her.

_Sesshoumaru, being nice. Yeah right! That'll be the day._

Continuing on towards the stream that branched off from the river she had floated down a week ago, Kagome muttered as she walked past Sesshoumaru's still form, "Kagome, something is definitely wrong with your head if you ever believe it will happen."

Sesshoumaru thought there was something wrong with her already.

Although Kagome had thought he was still sleeping, he had actually awoken just after she had. Wanting to remain inconspicuous, he had kept his eyes closed and remained still. Otherwise, he would have had to deal with her chattering to him, hoping to elicit some form of conversation.

_It seems she's perfectly fine creating discussions with herself. Very odd._

As the sounds of her trekking off towards the stream could no longer be heard by his human ears, he waited 5 minutes more before opening his eyes. He didn't trust his human senses one bit. Shifting his arm, he rolled over and propped himself up on his arm. Under Kagome's care, he had regained enough strength to do so, although standing up was still out of the question. Although he found her despicable, he had to admit that her care was efficient and effective. His puncture wound was healing quite nicely, luckily with no signs of infection.

Sesshoumaru glanced over at her empty sleeping bag. It seemed Kagome sometimes forgot he was even there. Late at night, he could often hear her crying and he didn't think she would have if she actually thought about him lying a few meters away. It disgusted him.

He didn't know exactly why she was so upset, but he could guess it had something to do with the absence of his worthless half-brother. He preferred it that way.

The former Taiyoukai stared down at his body. It was frustrating having to heal so slowly since he was so used to rarely giving it a second thought. He could almost, _almost_, give humans credit for putting up with such slow healing capabilities, especially when they went about getting themselves injured as often as they did.

Sesshoumaru paused as he realized something. He was actually considering acknowledging these humans?

_It must be this cursed human mind. _

He had noticed that any emotions he experienced felt as if they were magnified tenfold. He was having quite a bit of difficulty keeping his temper under control and not flat out screaming at (or wringing the neck of) the girl who aggravated him whenever she prodded him for a conversation. It was strange to have his feelings no longer under a tight rein and it worried him (there it was again, more emotion) since he always kept everything in his life under control. Sesshoumaru hated having things beyond his power.

A frown had begun to creep across his normally stony features when he heard a sound behind him. Recognizing the sound as Kagome returning from her bath, Sesshoumaru smoothed his face over to the well-practiced emotionless mask.

Seeing him propping himself up by the dead fire, Kagome blinked then rubbed her eyes, wanting to remove any trace of redness. Of course, rubbing them made the redness worse instead of any better. Putting on her own mask of happiness, she walked into the little camp with her bundle of firewood. Sesshoumaru caught a glimpse of this and found himself, surprisingly, somewhat amused by this.

_So she tries to hide her depression from me. She doesn't know I hear her tears at night…_

"You're awake! How about some breakfast?" The miko said cheerfully, putting down the wood and turning to her bag. Rummaging inside, she pulled out two bowls of ramen and couldn't help but smile genuinely as she handed one to Sesshoumaru.

Kagome could remember the first time she offered a bowl to him. He had simply stared at it and she had to state clearly that if he didn't eat it, his condition would probably get worse from lack of food. Anything to do with his health worsening seemed to be the magic words, for he had silently picked up the bowl. Placing a single noodle in his mouth he had paused and sat there as if contemplating something. Eventually, he had continued eating, much to Kagome's delight.

Although Sesshoumaru would never admit it, it was obvious that he liked the noodles. Almost unnoticeable, unlike Inuyasha's evident enjoyment, there was a slight change to his demeanour when he sat and ate the ramen. His eyes seemed brighter somehow and he appeared thoroughly content. It took all of Kagome's will power not to start laughing. Who would have thought the great Lord of the Western Lands could be so pleased with a simple bowl of ramen?

They ate in silence and it wasn't until they had finished that Kagome decided to try forcing a conversation out of the former Taiyoukai again. She started with the same question she asked every time.

"So… Sesshoumaru. Do you mind telling me how you ended up like this?"

"Yes, I do mind." Kagome began to frown but blinked in surprise when Sesshoumaru continued on. "But it seems you will not cease asking that same question until I answer it."

He ignored the delighted look that lit her face and stared past the miko into the trees. Sunbeams were streaming through the branches and leaves creating a beautiful setting, but he closed his eyes to it, realizing he could no longer pick out every single particle that floated in those beams.

"A female youkai did this to me."

"Who?"

"I do not know. She claims it is revenge for how I treated her previously, but I cannot recall when we met."

"How did she do it?" Kagome asked, a light frown touching her forehead, this time out of interest and worry.

"My dreams."

"What kind of dreams?"

Sesshoumaru opened his eyes to settle his violet gaze upon her. He didn't like revealing anything personal to others, but in this case… for some reason a part of him wanted to tell her.

_It's this human mind again…_

Kagome began to feel uncomfortable and nervous as he continued to stare unblinkingly at her during his inner battle. For some reason his violet eyes seemed a lot more unnerving than his golden ones. Perhaps it was because they showed a lot more emotion, usually annoyance but emotion nonetheless, whereas when he was a youkai, they never revealed anything at all. If this was due to him being human, what else could change?

"Er…" Kagome decided to say something, if only to get him to blink. "If you don't want to tell me, you don't have-"

"My fears." Sesshoumaru said suddenly as if there had been no break in the conversation.

"What?"

"My fears." He repeated, looking away much to the miko's relief.

"Oh…" Kagome blinked at him. She was rather surprised that he would admit something like that to her and although she knew it was probably hard enough to tell her that, she wanted to know what kind of fears… It seemed she shouldn't have worried. Sesshoumaru began to speak again since he could tell from her face that she wanted to know more and there was something that made him feel like he would not have been able to stop talking even if he wanted to.

_If_ he wanted to? Sure, he had wanted to tell her for some reason, but so much that he would not be able to stop himself? He lingered on that thought for only a moment before deciding to return to it later.

"Namely my worst fear. Her most recent attempt, surely not her last once she discovers I am not a rotting corpse, to gain her revenge has been to alter me so that it corresponded with it."

He watched as the young miko's grey-blue eyes widened in understanding.

"I guessed that this was awful for you, but not this bad Sesshoumaru. But is being human really that horrible?" Kagome asked, tilting her head slightly.

"Humans are worthless. I despise this body." He spat, feeling as if this would make up for his strange behaviour.

Kagome abruptly stood up and glared down at him, all sympathy dissolving into nothingness.

"Well I shouldn't have saved you then if you hate it this much! If you just tried to accept it Mr. I'm-A-Full-Youkai-And-I-Hate-Humans then maybe things wouldn't seem so bad! Or wait… that should have been Mr. I-_Was_-A-Full-Youkai-And… Agh! Never mind!" Kagome yelled, shaking her head. "The point is if you weren't so stubborn about disliking us humans so much, you might find something there to like!"

"I highly doubt it." Sesshoumaru said coldly, staring up at her from under his chestnut bangs.

"You know what?" She started, putting her hands on her hips, "You hate Inuyasha and think you're nothing like him. I'll admit that in a lot of ways you aren't alike but from being around you these past two weeks… I can honestly say you are just as stubborn and can be just as much of a jerk as he is."

"Do not compare me to that half-breed. If this is some sad little attempt to replace his absence I suggest you don't bother." His patience was wearing thin.

Kagome gaped at him. "What?! I--"

"You await his return, do you not?"

Her silence answered his question.

"These past two weeks I have heard you weep, although I haven't the slightest idea why you would give so much as a thought to that useless being. In fact, since he has not arrived by now I suggest you give up waiting, for he is probably lying somewhere dead being pecked at by vultures."

It was cruel and he knew it. Whatever hope she had was most likely severely damaged if not completely broken. Sesshoumaru felt somewhat pleased at having ceased her lecturing (although it had been in a way that wasn't quite as refined as he normally would have done it) and a smirk began to grow on his face that he couldn't stop, that is… until the young miko's face changed.

Her face fell, pain evident in her features. She managed to whisper, "You're wrong…" before rushing off into the trees.

Sesshoumaru suddenly felt a strange sensation creep through his body. It left him feeling filthy, in the non-literal sense. He rather disliked this feeling. He recalled hearing someone describe a feeling like this before and didn't like what it meant one bit. For the third time that day, he cursed his human mind.

The Lord of the Western Lands had experienced his first taste of guilt.

**A/N:** Okay, this chapter was really late but I must give a warning and say the next one will take a while too. Finals are here and I'm gonna be occupied with those for about 2 weeks. SO be patient as you have been for this update XD Thank you!  
To make up for my lateness and future late...nesses (if that's a word o.O woo look at my vocabulary lol) I bring you a terribly cute picture that I drew and only recently finished colouring... er... wait... they don't let me post links... Ugh. So again, if you want to see it, checkout my devART account. The link is on my author page. :)

Thank to the reviewers: Skitzoflame, annika, Dagorwen of Ithilien, animefreak321654, AnimeMoonlightGoddess, Queen of the Storms, Tokyogurl1, Shrew-hanyou, Mori'quessir, Inuyashaluver52293, marianne, dragon, Animefan1026, foxfire02, excel-saga, RavenSilverKat, Animefan1026, utena, shadowgirl/ashleigh, Forsaken Wanderer, crazy-punk-gurl, CherryBlossomLove

Wow lots. Makes me happy :D

Oh and another thing. Even though ff(dot)net has an author alert thing, if people want to be put on a mailing list so that I'll send an e-mail once the fic has been updated, let me know in a review (or some other way that gives me your email)and I'll add you :D -hugs to all-

**This fanfic has been discontinued** - It's probably obvious by now and I realize I should have left a note stating this a long time ago, but better late than never. Unfortunately, I lost interest in the pairing and from what I could remember, I was hopelessly stuck on how to start the next chapter. I had tried several times with none of them sounding right.

I'll leave the story up as deleting it would just be mean. XD Sorry for the disappointment and thanks for reading nonetheless. Cheers!


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